Abstract: The whole premise behind the slim-tower Phanteks PH-TC14S heatsink is not overhanging memory slots - if you've built an Intel X99 based computer recently, you're undoubtedly aware that the memory slots straddle either side of the LGA2011-3 CPU socket with a little less than 20mm to spare.

The whole
premise behind the slim-tower Phanteks PH-TC14S heatsink is not overhanging memory slots - if you've built an Intel
X99 based computer recently, you're undoubtedly aware that the memory slots straddle either side of the LGA2011-3 CPU socket with a
little less than 20mm to spare. As performance oriented memory is usually clad in heat spreaders too, interference will
occur if a CPU heatsink is too wide or the memory heat spreaders too
tall. The challenge with the LGA2011-3 platform is how to properly cool a 140W TDP chip,
quietly and ideally with a really compact heatsink.

According to the Intel Core i7 Thermal / Mechanical Specification and Design
Guide, the minimum keep out zone between the memory
slots is 92mm -- the dimension of the top-side LGA2011-3 ILM frame. Motherboard
manufacturers require more space for circuit trace wiring, so a more realistic
figure is ~110mm. Figure a 10mm buffer on either side of that and you're
left with 72mm, the thickness of the Phanteks PH-TC14S heatsink!

The Phanteks PH-TC14S heatsink stands 161mm tall and weighs 740grams. It's built
around six 6mm diameter heatpipes, a chunky nickel plated copper
heatspreader and two black painted aluminum cooling fin towers, each 19mm wide. At
the center of the heatsink is a 140mm PWM fan that operates at 1600-500RPM, producing
upwards of 47dBA according to our real world noise measurements. The
fan itself moves 68CFM at 1.62mmH2O, according to manufacturer specs.

The aluminum fins of the Phanteks PH-TC14S
heatsink have been painted black for aesthetic reasons, not anodized
as several novice reviews have mistakenly reported. A coating of
paint on a heat transfer surface is not ideal as it insulates the aluminum
fins from the surrounding air mass to some degree.

Furthermore, judging by the shiny nickel plated heatpipes
visible between the joints of the black painted cooling fins, each zippered fin
section is first painted, then installed onto the heatpipes as a
single unit. That means there will be paint between the cooling fin and heatpipe
joint as well.

Looking more
closely, we noticed the painted aluminum fins are in fact adhesively bonded to the
heatpipes along a roughly 90mm length of the total 106mm fin stack
height, not swagged or soldered in place (soldering is not possible if
the fins are painted before assembly). Due to the incomplete glue up, the
painted aluminum fins at the outside edges of the fin stack actually slide
a little on the heatpipes if you wiggle them... this indicates a poor
thermal joint.

The 140mm fan rests against a pair of
elastomer
anti-vibration strips and is held
in place with spring wire clips. The tips of the heatpipes are capped,
purely for aesthetics.

At the
base, we find the heatsinks' mounting bracket attached to the aluminum base
cap with a screw. To access the spring tensioned mounting screws the fan must be
removed first, but otherwise installation is pretty straight forward. The spring
tensioned screws ensure even mounting pressure is applied by the
heatsink.

FrostyTech's Test Methodologies are outlined in detail here if you care to know what equipment is
used, and the parameters under which the tests are conducted. Now let's move
forward and take a closer look at this heatsink, its acoustic characteristics,
and of course its performance in the thermal tests!